Improvement in treating heavy petroleum



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFIcE.

JOHN JAY LOONEY, OF ST. PETERSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA.

IMPROVEMENT IN TREATING HEAVY PETROLEUM.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 139,009, dated May 20,1873; application filed November 2, 1872.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that LJOHN J. LOONEY, of St. Petersburg, county of Clarion,State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin the Treatment of Oil; and to enable others skilled in the art to usemy invention, I declare the following to be a full, clear, and exactdescription thereof.

My invention relates to the treatment of the heavy or crude petroleumprevious to the process of distillation; and consists in adding to suchheavy or crude oil a compound or mixture of benzine and sulphuric acid.This mixture is added to the heavy oil while in the tank, previous todistillation, in sufficient quantities to cause all the hard resinoussubstances, such as paraffine, 850., to become dissolved or thinned intoan active fluid mass.

I have found that by treating the heavy crude petroleum in this mannerprevious to distillation it will yield, upon distillation, aconsiderably greater quantity of commercial fluid.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

The treatment of crude or heavy petroleum, previous to distillation,with a compound or mixture of benzine and sulphuric acid, in the mannerand for the purpose substantially as set forth.

JOHN JAY LOONEY.

Witnesses 0. REIGHART, E. ALTMAN.

